North-east politicians join protest against Labour’s ‘family farm tax’
Two north-east politicians joined a Westminster protest against a tax that is an “existential threat to agriculture”.
Currently, farmland is exempt from inheritance tax under a policy called Agricultural Property Relief. However, that is due to change under new plans from the UK’s Labour Government.
A cut to APR will mean that, as of April 2026, a 20 per cent tax will apply to agricultural assets above £1 million
Gordon and Buchan’s Conservative MP Harriet Cross and Highlands and Islands MSP Tim Eagle were two of more than 150 MPs lobbying against the change at Westminster’s Church House.
Harriet Cross said: “Labour’s family farm tax is an existential threat to agriculture across the United Kingdom.
“Most commercial farms are multigenerational, with little in the way of liquid assets and no hidden wealth.
“Entire lives have been put into these businesses.
“Labour are trying to deceive the British public about the ramifications of removing APR and BPR.
"The NFU and other farming groups suggest up to 75 per cent of commercial farms will be impacted. They are the ones who put food on our tables.
“Not only has Labour broken its promise to British farmers, but it is also endangering food security for a generation.”
Tim Eagle, who is the Scottish Conservatives’ shadow rural affairs secretary, added: “This tax threatens to cripple family farms across the country.
“These changes to agricultural and business property relief will make it increasingly hard for farms to be passed onto future generations, and threatens future food production.
“Labour’s response shows they just don’t get it after shamefully breaking their promises they made to farmers.
“Passing on the family farm is not just a matter of inheritance. It ensures the survival of food security, local jobs and protects the rural way of life.
“Farmers deserve better than to be treated as scapegoats by a UK Labour Government seeking to use them as a source of revenue.”
